


don't tell me our youth is running out (it's only just begun)

by whatthehelena



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: "poor tsukki" i think as i put him in the worst situations i can imagine, 20 smth millenials stumbling their way through life, Gen, M/M, On Hiatus, furudate said "o you're writing a future fic? that's cute", kageyama is an internet sensation because it's what he deserves
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-31
Updated: 2019-08-31
Packaged: 2020-10-04 11:07:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,025
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20470004
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whatthehelena/pseuds/whatthehelena
Summary: “How is your boyfriend so chill but you’re so...not chill?” asks Kageyama, mouth full of karaage.“Your vocabulary is, as always, lacking.”Tsukishima's a sports journalist. Kageyama's currently the most talked about member of the men's national volleyball team. Rumors are spreading about Kageyama's sexuality and there's not a single journalist Kageyama trusts except Tsukishima.Oh, and they used to date. Funny how life works.





	don't tell me our youth is running out (it's only just begun)

Tsukishima had just cleared airport security when he sees his editor-in-chief is calling. He would’ve let it go to voicemail, given that the plane is literally boarding as he’s rushing down the terminal, but the last time he did that Chief never let him hear the end of it. 

“Hello Chief, I’m about to miss my flight so-”

“Did you see that Kageyama Tobio was seen outside a gay club?”

Tsukishima would have stopped dead in his tracks if he didn’t hear his name announced over the intercom with the information that his boarding gate was about to close. He knows about Kageyama’s personal life (not by his own volition, he might add), he just doesn’t know how the _ chief _knows about Kageyama’s personal life. 

“I was not aware,” Tsukishima settles with as an answer, as to not implicate himself. 

Technically, he didn’t know Kageyama was seen outside a gay club. Did he know Kageyama was gay? Yes, because they briefly dated at the end of high school. But anything he knows about Kageyama post-high school is only because Hinata and Yachi tell Yamaguchi, who tells Tsukishima. 

“Not to be short, Chief,” continues Tsukishima. “But I think actual news is more important than treating a player’s private life as gossip.”

“That might be true but potential scandal stories gain traction. Find out more,” is all the Chief says before he promptly hangs up. 

Exactly how Tsukishima wanted to start his day. 

-

Press conferences are a guilty pleasure of Tsukishima’s. On the one hand, they’re often mind numbingly dull because other reporters ask inane questions (which beget inane answers) or athletes might be unprepared and repeat the same rehearsed answer over and over again. Press conferences are either dreadfully boring or complete disasters. Tsukishima has yet to see one that’s somewhere in between in all his years of sports journalism. 

But it’s because they can go horribly, horribly wrong that Tsukishima loves going to them. Why stare at spreadsheets of numbers and statistics when he could watch the pandemonium that are press conferences before a big match? No matter how hard their coach tries, some athletes just aren’t meant to sit in front of cameras and field questions from dozens of reporters all at once. 

Especially in Kageyama’s case, who famously fell asleep in the middle of a press conference early in his career. The video went viral all over the internet and he hasn’t lived it down since.

Kageyama’s not sitting at the table right now. Instead, it’s the coach of the men’s volleyball team, the captain and the newest player added to their roster. So far it seems like they’re not even planning to address the tabloids at all. 

The press conference is pretty standard. The coach talks, introduces the newest player. Both the captain and the newest player talk about the upcoming match. Tsukishima scribbles down a couple soundbites in his notebook to add to his article later. 

Close to the end of the conference, he gets texts from Kageyama and, surprising even himself, answers them.

KAGEYAMA

8:38AM

hey are you at the press conference?

can you meet me on the 3rd floor, near Ballroom A?

It’s kind of my job so unfortunately, yes.

I’ll meet you after the conference ends. 

-

Tsukishima finds Kageyama out in some random hallway at the convention center, wearing a big oversized black hoodie and baseball cap. There are sunglasses on top of his baseball cap, which isn’t the weirdest thing Tsukishima has seen Kageyama wear. He’s got a volleyball in his hands because of course he does. Was this Kageyama’s idea of a disguise? Someone should tell him it only makes him stand out more. 

When Kageyama spots Tsukishima, he stands up. 

“Hey.”

“How are you?” Tsukishima asks out of curiousness, mostly. Plus he knows he’s going to get an earful from Yamaguchi if he doesn’t at least try to show some concern for their former teammate during his time of crisis.

“Could be better. What do you think I should do about the tabloids?”

Straight to the point, as always. 

“Depends on what outcome you want. The website that ‘broke the story’ is seen as unreputable and has been proven to doctor images in the past so it’s likely people don’t believe the article anyway.”

Kageyama, being too honest for his own good, interjects: “No, those photos were real. I definitely slept with a ten that night.” 

“It doesn’t matter if you did or not,” Tsukishima says through gritted teeth, not because he’s jealous, but because he’s stuck giving Kageyama career advice when he could be finishing his article. “For the first time in your life, THINK before you speak.”

After a deep breath, Tsukishima continues again. “It’s likely not to affect your volleyball career. So you can hold a press conference, which I know you won’t because you hate them, come out on the social media accounts you don’t have, outright deny the allegations, or pretend they never existed.”

Kageyama nods. “Thanks. How’s Yamaguchi by the way?”

“Fine. We live together. He’s a salaryman.”

“And your brother?”

“Married. Has a kid, with another one on the way.”

Kageyama nods again, turning the volleyball in his hand. 

“And yourself?”

That puts Tsukishima at a pause. 

“Good. I think.”

“Cool,” Kageyama says without a hint of malice. “Do you and your boyfriend wanna get drinks tonight? I heard he’s in town for the e-gaming tournament Kozume’s in.” 

-

Tsukishima knocks on the door to Kuroo’s hotel room. They’re staying at hotels directly across the street from each other. He wonders absentmindedly if they could see each other from their hotel windows.

“Hi handsome,” Kuroo greets Tsukishima with a smile. Once they’re in the room, Kuroo plants a gentle kiss on Tsukishima’s forehead.

“Is Kozume-san here?”

“Cat napping in the other room,” says Kuroo as he points to the door connecting their hotel rooms together. “How was the press conference?”

“Fine. Kageyama asked to get drinks and specifically asked for your company. And he referred to you as my boyfriend.”

“That’s already more times than you’ve called me your boyfriend,” Kuroo raises his eyebrows. “I’m down. Does this have to do with the bunk article that was published today? If you can even call that trash ‘journalism’.” 

“It’s definitely trash but it’s also the truth. That’s Kageyama in the photo. Also we dated for like, a month in high school. There are zero feelings between us now. I’m telling you this now so that you’re not blindsided when we hang out later,” and Tsukishima braces for the impact of the bomb he just dropped.

It wasn’t that Tsukishima was trying to hide anything, exactly. He forgets that he and Kageyama ever dated all the time. It was the month after nationals and before college entrance exams when Tsukishima was tutoring Kageyama because despite Kageyama having a sports scholarship, he still couldn’t pass the separate exams they had for student athletes. Guess schools want you to be smarter than a sack of bricks. 

Kageyama passed his exams, the two of them graduated high school with their mutual friends, and in the ensuing years they lost touch with one another. Not that they were ever good at keeping in touch to begin with. Tsukishima went to college in Tokyo where he joined the school newspaper as their sports columnist. Kageyama joined the men’s national volleyball team. 

Not only that, Kageyama lost all the baby fat in his face, cut his hair in a not vaguely bowl shape, and learned how to smile. As a result of Kageyama’s transformation from awkward teen to volleyball heartthrob, now Tsukishima has to sift through articles like “17 Times Kageyama Set the Ball and We Wish It Was Us” and “Which Kageyama Meme Are You Today?” everyday to find actual news about professional volleyball. Why did he go to journalism school if he could get by just cobbling together low-res gifs of Kageyama snoring? The injustice.

“Just one question,” Kuroo says after blinking slowly. 

“Go ahead.”

“So do you have a thing for dark haired volleyball players you met in high school or?...”

Tsukishima rolls his eyes. At least if Kuroo’s joking, he’s not upset it took this long for Tukishima to tell him. He’ll count that as a blessing.

-

On the way back to his hotel, Tsukishima dials Yamaguchi’s phone number.

“Tsukki! How’s Osaka?”

“Fine. Kageyama suggested getting drinks with Kuroo and me and Kuroo agreed. Also, he knows that Kuroo and I are dating and now Kuroo knows Kageyama and I dated. What kind of illness should I feign to avoid this trainwreck?”

“You absolutely have to go.”

“Why’s that?”

“Because that sounds HILARIOUS and I wanna hear all about it,” Yamaguchi answers. Tsukishima can hear him cackling and strongly considers hanging up. 

“Do you have any actual useful advice or are you just reveling in my misery?”

Yamaguchi gasps at that. “Tsukki...I only ever have your best interests and whatever makes me laugh at heart. Anyway, high school ended six years ago. You’ve all moved on professionally, personally, etc etc. If you’re really uncomfortable, you can say no but the awkwardness isn’t there anymore unless you want it to be.”

That actually makes a lot of sense. “You’re right,” Tsukishima says, thankful he called after all. 

“I am right! I mean, technically you haven’t moved on from dating boys that you played volleyball with in high school but-”

After getting what he needs, Tsukishima hangs up the phone. 

-

As it turns out, Kuroo and Kageyama get along fabulously. 

Both of them are working on their fifth bottle of shared sake while Tsukishima is still nursing the one (1) cocktail he ordered at the beginning of this ordeal. They’ve been talking non-stop since Kuroo and Tsukishima got to the izakaya. Topics ranged from latest volleyball happenings to up and coming pop idols and Kozume’s burgeoning esports career.

The seating arrangement is Kageyama and Kuroo on one end of the table and Tsukishima on the other. Looking at the two of them, Tsukishima has to wonder if he really does have a type. 

Kuroo excuses himself to use the bathroom, leaving Kageyama and Tsukishima to their own devices.

“How is your boyfriend so chill but you’re so...not chill?” asks Kageyama, mouthful of karaage. 

“Your vocabulary is, as always, lacking.”

That makes Kageyama laugh and makes Tsukishima weirdly nostalgic for all the times Kageyama would laugh when caught off guard back in high school. 

“Tsukki, did you tell Tobio how we started dating yet?” asks Kuroo when he returns from the bathroom. 

“As I recall, I told Akaashi-san I would be living in Tokyo and then you and Bokuto badgered me to join you all to ‘full send it’ and then proceeded to not explain what it means to do a ‘full send.’”

“And then you fell for my devastatingly handsome looks,” adds Kuroo. 

“I would hope so, as it certainly wasn’t your personality I fell for,” Tsukishima retorts, elegantly taking a sip of his Midori sour. 

Maybe tonight won’t a total wash after all. 

-

After exchanging phone numbers and parting ways with Kageyama, Kuroo walks Tsukishima back to his hotel room. 

Well, it feels like Tsukishima’s walking Kuroo, given that Kuroo’s got an arm thrown over Tsukishima’s shoulder as he walks. And he knows for a fact that Kuroo is going to be “tired” and then just sleep in his hotel bed, which is why he packed some of Kuroo’s sleep clothes into his luggage when he left Tokyo. 

“I like Tobio! I mean the last time I talked to him was like a decade ago but he’s funny,” Kuroo says with a wide smile and rosy cheeks. 

“I guess,” replies Tsukishima.

Kuroo stops to check the notification on his phone. “Oh my god, why is Kenma streaming now? It’s 3am. I’m gonna kill him. Let’s head back to your hotel room so I can tell him to stop.”

In the chill of the Osaka night air, Tsukishima laughs as Kuroo complains about being Kozume’s manager and thinks that maybe he’s pretty lucky to end up where he ended up after all.

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! Thank you so much for reading. This fic was inspired by Gia Wood's song New Girlfriend. Specifically, the lyric: "I like your new girlfriend more than you." 
> 
> I promise this is gonna be my last work about ex-boyfriends. It'll be out of my system soon. 
> 
> work title: Youth by Foxes  
chapter title: Told You So by Paramore


End file.
